11 days after leaving prison for corruption, ex-state senator Tom Cullerton registered as lobbyist

Eleven days after serving a federal prison term for corruption, a former Illinois legislator from Chicago's western suburbs registered as a state government lobbyist last month, according to federal and state records.

Ex-state Sen. Thomas Cullerton, a Democrat from Villa Park, pleaded guilty last summer in federal court to embezzling funds from a labor union and was sentenced to more than a year in prison.

But he enjoyed early release after about seven months behind bars on April 14, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons.

Now, state records show Cullerton registered on April 25 as a lobbyist with Strategia Consulting of Itasca, a public relations and government affairs firm whose current client list includes two western suburban municipalities.

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